Historic Bletchley Park Development For Sale
Location: Bletchely Park, near Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, UK
Name: Bletchely Park – Block G
Guide Price: £TBA
The Opportunity: An interesting development opportunity at the iconic Bletchley Park – the home of British codebreaking, and birthplace of modern information technology, has just been launched.
The property comprises Block G at Bletchley Park which was built in 1943 as workspace for the increased number of staff at the Bletchley site. Comprising 32,709 sq ft of derelict buildings on a 2.73 acre site within a conservation area, the complex was granted planning consent for employment uses in 2005.
Milton Keynes is at the centre of the ‘UK growth corridor’ and is well-placed to benefit from resulting future business growth with its continued success being declared a ‘national priority’ by the National Infrastructure Commission. Its world class research, innovation and technology are set to help the UK prosper in a changing global economy.
The debate is whether one would get planning consent for use as a hotel…however the good news is the building, Block G is not listed.
The UK Government has committed to delivering 1m new homes across the ‘UK growth corridor’ by 2050 which, combined with the £7bn of infrastructure investment, is forecast to drive significant occupier demand. In 2017, the Department for Transport pledged to create an expressway of new road and rail routes across the Cambridge-Milton Keynes-Oxford arc.
JLL, the appointed agent, said “The site presents a unique opportunity at the birthplace of early computing, at a location synonymous with intelligence and genius. It is likely to be of interest to commercial occupiers, especially companies at the forefront of information technology, communications, and defence industries or education uses, and a new building offers occupiers the prospect of a landmark facility.”
Bletchley Park was where staff including Dilly Knox, Alan Turing, John Jeffreys and Peter Twinn worked, playing a major role in World War II, producing secret intelligence which had a direct and profound influence on the outcome of the conflict.
Bletchley Park has become an internationally renowned heritage attraction visited by people from around the world, acknowledging the successes during the World War II and the people responsible for them. It is shortlisted for three 2020 UK Heritage Awards. A new learning facility and additional exhibition areas are due to open at Bletchley Park in 2021, with capacity for 300,000 visitors and over 50,000 students annually. The National Museum of Computing, adjacent, has the World’s largest collection of working vintage computing machines, and Heritage England has judged it one of the “Top 100 Irreplaceable Places” in the country.
Expressions of Interest required by 5pm 27th May
Main Photo: The historic Bletchley Park
Tenure: Freehold…most of the other parts of the site are leasehold
Flag and Management: Free of both…
Current Owner: The Block G was used by BT during the 1990’s, since when it has fallen into disrepair. It now comprises a building shell and the current owners have undertaken various remedial works, including the removal of asbestos, so it’s ready for conversion as a modern office/research/training facility…and perhaps a hotel.
Agent: JLL
Guide Price: Around £5m
Date Posted: April 2020
THPT Comment: This is a fab project to look at for it’s historic connections and access to the visitor numbers. Planning consent is NOT a given.
Contact us for further information
This is a new feature on the THPT site…. Hotel & Serviced Apartment owners can be naturally reticent in publicising their property is for sale…for confidentiality reasons, for staff and current client reasons, so the properties featured in this section will either be “generic” or “name specific”
Each fortnight we mail the opportunities posted that week, but check-out the tab “Hotels Available” and call us for details of “Under the Table” – deals not posted on the site at all
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